Raised Beds for Farming
Even if your garden extends beyond a backyard plot, you might consider using raised beds to maximize the use of the space you have, and to overcome common problems like poor soil and poor drainage.
Raised beds can be made in many different ways, and can be filled with what you have on hand, although the best results will always come from filling with high-quality soil or a good mix.
Sometimes double digging is still needed before you begin to build raised beds, but there are other options.
Start Your Own Seeds
Starting plants from seed is a skill that any small farmer, homesteader or hobby farmer will want to master as soon as possible. And it's easy - although the specifics differ depending on the plant you're growing, in terms of germination temperature, seed depth, and how long before your last frost you start the seeds. The most critical part of seed starting is (as is often the case in farming) infrastructure: you'll need at minimum, a horizontal surface and some fairly intense lighting (fluorescents are enough) to grow stout, hardy little transplants for your garden. Those of us growing food on a larger scale will benefit from a high tunnel for starts, but even a folding table can hold a garden's worth of tiny plants.
Feeding and Watering Your Chickens
Already wondering what you need to do once your baby chicks get a little bigger? Feeding and watering your growing chicks and eventually, your grown chickens, properly will maximize their health, growth and egg production (or meat production if you're raising chickens for meat). Luckily, it's not hard to choose the right commercial feed for your chickens' needs. For the more adventurous or advanced chicken farmer, making your own chicken feed is a possibility as well. And for the diehard self-sufficient homesteader, consider growing the basic ingredients for your chicken feed.
- How to Feed Your Chickens
- How to Water Your Chickens
- Types of Commerical Feed for Chickens
- Make Your Own Chicken Feed Mix
Feeding Bees in the Spring
It's a good idea to begin feeding your bees as the spring arrives and temperatures begin to warm, but before the first flowers are blooming.
We had a stretch of (extremely!) warm weather last week and I was able to check on my very busy, very abundant hive (I combined two weak hives last fall) and put some sugar syrup in a hivetop feeder for them. They seemed very happy about the bounty!
What to Do With a Broody Hen
If a hen won't get off the nest when you go to collect the eggs, instead trying to bite you with her beak, she might be broody. This can happen regardless of whether you have a rooster! It's springtime, and hens tend to go broody at this time of year.
If you want to raise your own chicks, you might be happy to find a broody hen. If not (or if no rooster's in the picture), you'll want to break her up. Learn how to do that, and how to nurture the broody hen to bring those eggs to hatching into baby chicks:
A Coop of One's Own
Okay, this isn't the prettiest coop out there, but it's functional and we built it ourselves. When we moved in to our farm, the right side of this coop was finished, and the left was open as a woodshed. When we expanded our flock and added meat birds, we walled in the left side, adding a door and a (matching!) window. We've also built a movable coop and rotated the girls onto new pasture every week or two during the spring, summer and fall, using electric fence around them to keep them safe from predators.
If you're building a coop this year, check out the resources I've put together:
- Before You Build or Buy a Coop
- Chicken Coop Requirements
- Predator Proof Your Coop
- Top 10 Tips for Building Your Own Chicken Coop
- Building a Movable Chicken Tractor Step by Step
Baby Chicks This Spring
Are you expecting a very fuzzy delivery in the next few weeks? March and April are very popular times to get baby chicks to raise into egg-laying hens or meat birds.
If it's your first time raising chickens, you may be wondering what to do. From getting them home from the post office or feed store, to feeding them properly, to keeping the temperature just right - there's a lot to raising baby chicks. But it doesn't have to be overwhelming. I've prepared a series of guides to help you through the process.
About raising chicks:
- Where to Buy Baby Chicks
- Setting Up Baby Chicks Step by Step
- Your First Days and Weeks With Baby Chicks
- How to Raise Chicks
An overview of keeping chickens, how to choose breeds, a list of popular breeds and information on each one, and info on chicken coops:
- How to Keep Chickens
- A Guide to Choosing Chicken Breeds
- Chicken Breeds for the Small Farm
- How to Choose a Chicken Coop
Within each of these articles are links to still more information on raising chickens. Enjoy!
Making Maple Syrup
With the days above freezing and the nights below, here in Vermont it's already time to tap the maple trees and gather their prolific sap, boiling it down into delicious maple syrup. Whether you're using lines or buckets, it is a good time to gather the supplies you'll need for sugaring. If you don't have your own trees, consider asking a neighbor if they mind if you tap their trees. In exchange for some homemade maple syrup, they might be very obliging.
Starting a Farm or a Farm-based Business?
Finances, business licenses, business plans -- if you're starting a farm business, you might be wondering where to begin? And if you're starting the farm itself at the same time, you've got animals, crops, and equipment to think about. Or perhaps you need to start at ground zero: buying or leasing the right farm.
It can seem overwhelming. And spring is just around the corner (especially this winter, it feels like it's already here!). But there are still enough cold, dark nights to sit by the woodstove and plan the season - and next season, and the next. I've assembled a couple of overviews for you, with links to deeper, more detailed information on each topic. Sometimes the big picture is what you need, and sometimes the details are where you need to focus. Enjoy!
How to Grow Sprouts on the Small Farm
It's that time of year -- too cold to really get going in the garden, but winter's been around long enough to have worn out it's welcome. It's a great time to bring some fresh, alive greens into your life -- sprout them!
Sprouts make a great alternative crop for your small farm, too -- provided you take the necessary precautions to ensure clean, safe sprouts. Learn how to grow them safely. Sprouts are fun!